Increased Recycling Rate Fuels Job Growth, Slows Pollution

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Increased recycling nationwide will create jobs, reduce pollution and strengthen local economies, according to a report released in November.

Titled “More Jobs, Less Pollution: Growing the Recycling Economy in the U.S.,” the report found that a 75 percent national recycling rate could potentially create 1.5 million jobs and also reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 276 million metric tons by 2030, equal to eliminating the emissions from 72 coal-fired power plants, or taking 50 million cars off the road.

Increased recycling will reduce conventional and toxic emissions that impact human and ecosystem health, the report finds.

Boston-based Tellus Institute with Sound Resource Management prepared the report for the BlueGreen Alliance, SEIU, NRDC, Teamsters, Recycling Works!, and the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives.

The report assessed the impacts of implementing a national recycling and composting strategy over the next two decades and specifically explored the impact on jobs and environmental pollutants if the U.S. were to reach a 75 percent national waste diversion rate by 2030. It analyzed municipal solid waste — waste generated by households and commercial and institutional entities — as well as construction and demolition debris.

Key findings of the report include:

• A total of 2.3 million jobs: almost twice as many jobs as the projected 2030 Base Case Scenario, and about 2.7 times as many jobs as exist in 2008. There would be a significant number of additional indirect jobs associated with suppliers to this growing sector, and additional induced jobs from the increased spending by the new workers.

• Lower greenhouse gas emissions: The reduction of almost 515 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (eMTCO2) from diversion activities, an additional 276 million eMTCO2than the Base Case, equivalent to shutting down about 72 coal power plants or taking 50 million cars off the road.

• Less pollution overall: Significant reductions in a range of conventional and toxic emissions that impact human and ecosystem health.

• Unquantified benefits of reducing ecological pressures associated with use of non-renewable resources, conserving energy throughout the materials economy, and generating economic resiliency through stable, local employment.

“Increasing our recycling rather than dumping these renewable resources in landfills and incinerators will create nearly 1.5 million jobs that are sorely needed, and will benefit the environment,” said Jim Hoffa, Teamsters general president. “The Teamsters are interested in creating good, green jobs.”

To view the report, visit www.teamster.org/morejobslesspollution.